New Member Thomas

[tom3245]

Hello I have just bought a TLM103 thinking it was real, unfortunately, it was fake. As seen in the pictures, the metal enclosure and shielding are identical to the real TLM but the screws are not flush and there are white connectors on the elastic wire for the shock mount. I looked inside, the PCB definitely looks fake and I’m not sure how to identify the capsule, or even how to tell if it’s any good or not. I tried the mic out and it definitely sounds harsher and more metallic than I think it should. I’ll be looking around here to find tips on good mic circuits I could build that I could put in my TLM103 enclosure and on what capsule I should get. If anyone has any ideas I would be really thankful if you shared. Thank you.

 

[Barry Hufker]

I'm sorry your purchase was a counterfeit. It seems to happen more and more often. Fortunately, you'll find people here who can guide you towards building a better mic.

You might begin looking here: https://groupdiy.com/threads/neumann-tlm103-capsule-the-best-affordable-replacement.85985/

 

[tom3245]

I'm sorry your purchase was a counterfeit. It seems to happen more and more often. Fortunately, you'll find people here who can guide you towards building a better mic.

You might begin looking here: https://groupdiy.com/threads/neumann-tlm103-capsule-the-best-affordable-replacement.85985/

Thanks for the help, yeah luckily I could have paid a lot more for it (I paid 550) but hopefully it won’t go to waste if I can find a way to add some good electronics inside of it.

 

[micolas]

Hello I have just bought a TLM103 thinking it was real, unfortunately, it was fake. As seen in the pictures, the metal enclosure and shielding are identical to the real TLM but the screws are not flush and there are white connectors on the elastic wire for the shock mount. I looked inside, the PCB definitely looks fake and I’m not sure how to identify the capsule, or even how to tell if it’s any good or not. I tried the mic out and it definitely sounds harsher and more metallic than I think it should. I’ll be looking around here to find tips on good mic circuits I could build that I could put in my TLM103 enclosure and on what capsule I should get. If anyone has any ideas I would be really thankful if you shared. Thank you.

Hi @tom3245 !
Welcome to GDIY!
Don't worry. Many here have bought fake TLM103, U87, etc deliberately to use their parts.
There are a few threads that refer to modifying a fake 103, or building other circuits in this 103/102 body.
I recommend you read them carefully.
It was built in this body with excellent results even clone after U87.
I cloned the 103 circuit with through-hole components and it sounds like the original with Takstar, 797, etc. capsules.
This is a group of amazing DIY people who will help you make interesting projects that will bring you a lot of satisfaction.

 

[micolas]

@tom3245
Are there similarities between the two pcbs?

 

[tom3245]

Hi @tom3245 !
Welcome to GDIY!
Don't worry. Many here have bought fake TLM103, U87, etc deliberately to use their parts.
There are a few threads that refer to modifying a fake 103, or building other circuits in this 103/102 body.
I recommend you read them carefully.
It was built in this body with excellent results even clone after U87.
I cloned the 103 circuit with through-hole components and it sounds like the original with Takstar, 797, etc. capsules.
This is a group of amazing DIY people who will help you make interesting projects that will bring you a lot of satisfaction.

hey Micolas thanks for the reply I’ll get to looking at the difference between the pcb u sent and the one in my fake. Is the one you sent from a real TLM103? When you say you made your own TLM103 out of through hole components did you have access to some sort of schematic? I’ve been trying to find a TLM103 circuit schematic but have had no luck. Also have you heard of the soyuz 017 fet? I’ve been searching for that one’s schematic as well do you know if that one can be DIY’ed? Or not enough is known about it? Thanks for your help!!

 

[micolas]

Hi @tom3245 !
This thread is only for introducing new members to the group.
In order to be able to organize and find specific topics, to help others (as in your case) we open threads with the appropriate title. So you will have to open a new thread called for example:
"Fake TLM103: Looking for help with mods/builds"
Here you will post again exactly what you presented in post #1 :
https://groupdiy.com/threads/new-member-thomas.89822/post-1186717
with text and pictures. To those who help you, you will civilly thank them with "like", it's about the effort and time they dedicate to you altruistically. Everyone, in order to reach a level of knowledge and experience, invested time, money, a lot of work, made sacrifices, suffered many times failures and disappointments, but did not give up. That's what DIY is all about.